Why the White iPhone Was Delayed, According to Steve Wozniak

The camera's flash bulb, he said in a public interview with Engadget, leaks too much light. Wozniak also reports problems with the white iPhone 4's proximity sensor, which disables the touch screen when the phone is held close to the face.

Wozniak experienced these issues first-hand by purchasing a do-it-yourself white iPhone 4 kit from Fei Lam, a 17 year-old entrepreneur who made headlines last November by striking his own deal with iPhone manufacturer Foxconn. (Lam claimed at the time that a private investigator was trying to intimidate him on Apple's behalf. His website is now defunct.)

Whether Wozniak was drawing on additional information from within Apple is unclear. He did say, however, that the issues have been resolved, and that the white iPhone 4 is shipping soon.

Although my colleague Ian Paul speculates that the white iPhone may never arrive, rumored internal product listings from AT&T and Best Buy suggest a late February or early March launch. Unnamed sources recently told Apple Insider that Apple has devised a new painting method to make the white iPhone 4 possible, saving the company from scraping the model altogether.